Handkerchief holder



Aug. 2,1938. F. H. SCRIBNER 2,125,362

HANDKERCHIEF HOLDER Filed Jan. 29, 1957 INVENTOR Patented Aug. 2, 1938 PATENT OFFiCE HANDKERCHIEF HOLDER Fred H. Scribner, Easthampton, N. Y.

Application January 29,

4 Claims.

The-invention relates to handkerchief holders, and more particularly to an article of jewelry especially adapted for use with evening wear.

The carrying of delicate and expensive handkerchiefs is a prevalent style, and evening or semi-evening gowns provide no means for carrying a handkerchief. Consequently, handkerchiefs are frequently lost.

With the above conditions in mind, I have provided an artistic holder for such handkerchiefswhich maybe connected with a ring,bar pin or other piece of jewelry, and which is capable of holding a handkerchief of the. most delicate texture without injury thereto and without likelihood of the escape of the handkerchief from the holder.

The construction of the holder is not only such as to permit the embodying therein of highly artistic designs, but to permit precious stones or brilliants to be incorporated in the holder structure. The holder may be made throughout of precious metals, or base metals suitably finished to give the desired attractive appearance to the article, and irrespective of the materials from which it is made, the article has a pleasing and artistic appearance, in accord with its conditions of use. It is distinctly a piece of jewelry, the value and desirability of which may be greatly increased by the mounting therein of valuable gems or which may be made with imitation or synthetic gems and be equally attractive but of small intrinsic value.

In manufacturing the holder, it is necessary, in addition to the artistic characteristics to be incorporated therein, to provide jaws so constructed as to be closed upon and firmly engage the most delicate'fabrics without injury thereto, and without likelihood of a handkerchief escaping from the jaws or being drawn therefrom.

The invention consists primarily in a handkerchief holder embodying therein two spring stems, each carrying at its free end an exteriorly decorated plate having a generally curved bottom edge, complementary metal gripping jaws following generally the contour of the lower edge of, and projecting inwardly from each plate, each jaw presenting a continuous uninterrupted blunt bearing edge of varying heights, movable means operative upon said stems, whereby said jaws may be brought toward each other or permitted to separate, a short length of chain connected with said stems, and a spring fastener carried by the other end of said chain, whereby the holder in its entirety may be detachably connected with a rin pin or other article of jewelry; and in such 1937, Serial No. 122,912

Fig. 1 is a front view of a handkerchief holder embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a side view thereof;

Fig. 3 is an end view of the end plates and of the clamping jaws; and

Fig. 4 is a view on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in the drawing, the holder embodies two thin stems Ill and II formed by bending a length of half round wire with an enlarged 100p H2 at the bend forming the two stems. The material of the stems may be of a precious or a base metal alloy, sufficiently hard to impart springiness or resiliency to the stems and cause them to diverge in the manner shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing.

Said stems, at their free ends, each carry an eXteriorly decorated plate It or M. These plates are preferably spatulate and laterally flared to afford space for the decorations. The plates preferably are of thin metal of the same material as the stems and are fiat, since this not only admits of the application of decorative designs to the plate, but of the formation of jewel mounts, such as prongs or beds, thereon when desired.

Each of the end plates l3 and M is provided with jaws adapted to be closed upon a handkerchief and to retain it in the holder in a manner to prevent not only the loss of the handkerchief, but injury to the most delicate fabric. These jaws are shown at !5 and E6 in the drawing. The jaw I5 differs in form from, but is complementary to, the jaw l6. These jaws must be so formed as to avoid the presence of sharp teeth or sharp cutting edges. As shown, each jaw follows the contour of the lower edge of the plate carrying same and has an undulatory bearing edge of a width or thickness to eliminate all possibility of cutting action. These jaws do not penetrate the fabric of the handkerchief and yet grip same sufficiently firmly to prevent the escape of the handkerchief.

Such handkerchiefs are used exclusively for display or as a finish to an ensemble.

The greatest height of each jaw i5 and i6 is such as to space the plates l3 and I4 away from each other with the two-fold object of permitting slight bunching of the portion of the handkerchief positioned between the plates inwardly of the jaws, and to permit the penetration of light between the plates when gems or brilliants are used as a part of the decorative finish to the holder.

In the embodiment of the invention shown, each plate I3 and I4 is provided with a plurality of gem mountings of the usual form and capable of the usual variation. These mountings open through the plates, as clearly shown in Fig. 4. The gems and their mountings are indicated by the reference letter ll. Both plates carry gems or a decorative design, since the holder is subject to constant change of position while in use.

Slidably mounted upon the stems i0 and H is a ring [8 which, by movement along the stems A ,two spring stems, each carrying at its free end an and towards the plates l3 and it, closes the jaws I5 and I6 upon a hankerchief. The flexibility of the stems permits the end plates to yield sufficiently to accommodate themselves to the fabric of the handkerchief, and this flexibility also causes the stems to so grip the ring as to practically eliminate all possibility of accidental movement of the ring to an extent to permit separation of the jaws to an extent to allow the escape of a handkerchief.

One end of a short length of chain 89 is secured, in any desired manner, to the stems adjacent the loop l2, the other end of which has secured thereto a spring fastener such as a snap ring or snap hook 20 commonly used in the jewelry trade.

This fastener permits the holder to be attached toa finger ring, bar pin or other article of jewelry, its attachment to a finger ring being particularly desirable to permitthe effective display of the holder and of a handkerchief carried thereby.

In the accompanying drawing, the holder is shown upon a grossly exaggerated scale. In actual practice, the entire device has an over-all length of about three and one-half inches. The plates 13 and M, at their widest part, areslightly over three-quarters of an inch. The chain i9 is about an inch and three-quarters long, and the stems in and H are about an inch in length. The holder in its entirety is a delicate and beautiful piece of jewelry which may be'made at a cost'which will permit'it to sell for from a few cents to thousands of dollars, according to the value of the material incorporated therein.

The jaws I5 and It present a continuous uninterrupted bearing area of varying heights as distinguished from the use of teeth penetrating the material of the handkerchief. The use of such teeth is prohibitive because of the tendency to cut the delicate fabricof a handkerchief.

As shown in Fig. 3, the greatest depth of one of the jaws is located adjacent the vertical center of the plate-carrying same, while the jaw carried by the other plate has two high points adjacent the ends of the jaw, the medial point of this jaw being closely adjacent the inner face of the plate carrying same. One jaw is complementary to the other.

The spacing apart of the plates, due to the formation of the jaws, is particularly desirable in that it permits the effective display of gems.

In the'production of a holder, the end plates are preferably made separate from,'and' secured to, the stems.

, Whilean ordinary snap ring is shown as the spring fastener, it is obvious that othermeans of permitting attachment of the holder to a finger ring, brooch, pin or other article of jewelry may be used.

It is not my intention to limit the invention to the particular configuration of the end plates, nor to any particular artistic design upon, or

decoration of, these plates, it being obvious that such is capable of wide variation to meet the particularfancy'of the purchasing public, or to permit the production of holders which are exclusive as to design.

The holder may be made of gold or platinum, so far as the more expensive holders are concerned, or of silver, chromium or gold plated brass, so far as the cheaper grades of the holder are concerned.

Having described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to have protected by Letters Patent, is:

1. A handkerchief holderembodying therein exteriorly decorated plate having a generally curved bottom edge, complementary metal gripping jaws following generally the contour of the lower edge of, and projecting inwardly from each plate, each' jawpresenting a continuous uninterruped blunt bearing edge -of varying heights, movable means operative upon said stems, whereby said jaws may be brought toward each other or permitted to separate, a'short length of chain connected with said stems, :anda spring fastener carried by the other end of saidchain, whereby theholder in its entirety may be detachably connected with a ring, pin or other article of jewelry. 2. A handkerchief holder embodying therein two spring stems, each carrying at its free end an exteriorly decorated, flat, spatula'te, laterally flared plate having a generally curved bottom edge, complementary metalgrippingfiaws following generally the contour of the lower edge of, and projecting inwardly from each plate, each jaw presenting a continuous uninterrupted undulatory blunt bearing edge of varying heights, the greatest depth of one of said jaws ibeing adjacent the vertical center-of the plate carrying same, and the greatest depth -of the other jaw being adjacent the ends thereof, movable means operative upon said stems, whereby said jaws may be brought toward each otheror permitted to separate, a short length of chain connected with said stems, and a springfastener carried by the other end of said chain,whereby the holder in its entirety may be detachably connectedwith a ring, pin or other article of jewelry.

3. A handkerchief holder embodying therein two spring stems, each'carrying at its free end an exteriorly decorated, flat, spatula-te, laterally flared plate having a generally curved bottom edge, and a gem mounting thereon inwardly of the plate, complementary metal gripping jaws following generally the contour of the lower edge of, and projecting inwardly from each plate to an extent to space the plates well apart ad'jac'en't said gem mountings, each jaw presenting a continuous uninterrupted blunt bearing-edge 0f varying heights, movable means operative 'upon said stems, whereby said jaws may bebrought toe ward each other or permitted to separate, a short length of chain connected with said stems, and-a spring fastener carried by the other end of-said chain, whereby the holder in its entiretymay be detachably connected with a ring, pin or other article of jewelry. 7

4. A handkerchief holder embodying therein two spring stems, each carryingat its free end an exteriorly decorated, flat, spatulate, laterally flared plate having a generally curved bottom edge, and a gem mounting thereon inwardly of the plate, complementary metal gripping jaws followinggenerally the contour of the lower edge of, and projecting inwardly'from each plate to an 75;

extent to space the plates well apart adjacent said gem mountings, each jaw presenting a continuous uninterrupted undulatory blunt bearing edge of varying heights, the greatest depth of one of said jaws being adjacent the vertical center of the plate carrying same, and the greatest depth of the other jaw being adjacent the ends thereof, movable means operative upon said stems,

whereby said jaws may be brought toward each other or permitted to separate, a short length of chain connected with said stems, and a spring fastener carried by the other end of said chain, whereby the holder in is entirety may be detachably connected with a ring, pin or other article of jewelry.

FRED H. SCRIBNER. 

